SMH: Snatched Newborn Baby is Safe and Sound

A newborn boy abducted by a knife-wielding woman posing as an immigration agent was safe Saturday and being held by child welfare officials as authorities charged a woman with his kidnapping. Rob Johnson, a spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, said Maria Gurrolla got to hold her week-old baby, Yair Anthony Carillo, on Saturday afternoon, but was not being allowed to take him home yet. Gurrolla, 30, and her three other children — ages 3, 9 and 11 — visited with the baby, then all four of the children were taken into state custody, Johnson said. “Our focus is on the children, and under the current situation right now, we think the safest thing to do is take the children into state custody,” said Johnson, who declined to elaborate. Joel Siskovic, an FBI special agent in the Memphis division, said he did not have details about whether the parents were also under protective custody. “As of now, there’s no indication that there’s an ongoing threat to the family,” he said. Nashville police said the baby was found in good health at a home in Ardmore, Ala., about 80 miles south of Nashville near the Tennessee line.

Earlier Saturday, officials said the baby would remain with a foster family as authorities made arrangements for Gurrolla to be reunited with her son. “This baby is a week old, and this child has spent half his life away from his family. I think it’s time we reunite them,” said My Harrison, a special agent with the FBI in Tennessee. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Mark Gwyn identified the arrested woman as Tammy Renee Silas, 39, of Ardmore. Federal authorities formally charged her Saturday with kidnapping. The Morgan County Sheriff’s office said Silas was picked up by U.S. Marshals on Saturday morning, though it was not known where she was being taken. The baby and Silas were found about 10 p.m. CDT in Ardmore, and Silas did not resist arrest, Gwyn said. Authorities said they had no word on a possible motive. Police in Nashville did not know if Silas has a lawyer. The infant was taken from his home Tuesday, just four days after he was born. His mother told police a heavyset white woman with blonde hair arrived at her home posing as an immigration agent and attacked her with a knife. Gurrolla told investigators that during the abduction, she heard the woman make a phone call and tell someone in Spanish words to the effect of “the job is done” and that the mother “was dying,” said Siskovic, the FBI agent. Siskovic said Silas took the victim’s cell phone, which helped investigators locate Silas.